S&P/Case-Shiller's closely watched 20-city index found the average price of a home climbed 2.4 percent in May compared with April. The city with the biggest average monthly gain was San Francisco, where home prices jumped 4.3 percent.

Higher price tags haven't deterred home buyers, who pushed up sales of new homes in June by 8.3 percent, according to the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, as Mark wrote last week.

Despite the boom in home sales, consumers in general aren't feeling as carefree. The Conference Board, a private business research organization, reported Tuesday that its monthly Consumer Confidence Index dropped slightly in June. It's down to 80.3, compared with May's 82.1.

Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a written statement, "Consumer confidence fell slightly in July, precipitated by a weakening in consumer's economic and job expectations. However, confidence remains well above the levels of a year ago."